09 July, 2012

I'm a bit of a baseball stat geek, so I like to do things like look at the combined stats of players from all-star break to all-star break. I'm not sure how much I actually learn from the process. It does speak to some level of consistency. As a non-fantasy baseball player, it also provides an element of surprise when I learn just how good (Josh Willingham) or bad (Derek Lowe) some of the non-super star players have been.
The biggest take away for me this year is how down the offensive power numbers are. Usually there's a guy with 50+ homers, 150ish RBI, but not this year. Injury certainly has something to do with it. Matt Kemp probably would be that guy this year but he's only played in 105 games since last years break, putting up a .343 average with 29 homers, 87 ribbies and 90 runs scored.
Just like last year, only 3 players have 200+ hits. Can you guess them? How about the most losses by a pitcher? You may be surprised. Can you guess the top 3 in saves? I would never have gotten it.
Without further ado, your 2011-2012 All-Star Break to All-Star Break All-Stars.

BATTING AVERAGE LEADERS (minimum 502 plate appearances).

Miguel Cabrera .350

Melkey Cabrera .339 (pretty good for a guy most thought wasn't more than a 4th OF)

Carlos Ruiz .336 (career high in hits is 116. has 90 already this year)

Ryan Braun .324

Joe Mauer .321 (not quite back at his earlier levels, but pretty good)

Carlos Gonzalez .320

Joey Votto .320

Yadier Molina .318

Derek Jeter .316

David Wright .316

David Ortiz .313

Robinson Cano .311

Michael Young .309

Carlos Beltran .308 (it's always been about his health. when healthy, he hits)

Michael Bourn .307

Paul Konerko .304

Josh Hamilton .302

Mike Napoli .301

Omar Infante .301

Prince Fielder .300

DOUBLES

Joey Votto 56

Miguel Cabrera 53

Robinson Cano 51

Alex Gordon 48 (tabbed the next George Brett coming up. Brett's career high was 45)

Adrian Gonzalez 43

David Wright 42

Jeff Franceour 42 (Frenchy! Hit 36 doubles in 2 seasons as a Met)

David Ortiz 42

Neil Walker 41 (a doubles machine, averaging 38 a season for his young career)

Aramis Ramirez 41

TRIPLES (last year there were 10 guys in double figures. Not anymore)

Dexter Fowler 19

Jemile Weeks 10

Michael Bourn 9

Miguel Cabrera 9

Austin Jackson 9

Shane Victorino 9

Starlin Castro 8

Omar Infante 8

HOME RUNS (last years leader was Jose Bautista with 62)

Josh Hamilton 41

Ryan Braun 41

Curtis Granderson 39

Jose Bautista 39

Josh Willingham 37 (I think they all came against the Mets)

Giancarlo Stanton 35

Edwin Encarnacion 34

Mark Trumbo 34

Albert Pujols 33

Robinson Cano 33

Dan Uggla 33

Corey Hart 32

David Ortiz 32

Adam Jones 32

Prince Fielder 31

Miguel Cabrera 30

Joey Votto 30

Mike Napoli 30

Carlos Gonzalez 30

RBI

Josh Hamilton 120

Miguel Cabrera 117

Josh Willingham 114 (Im pretty sure 102 of these came against the Mets too)

Robinson Cano 112

Prince Fielder 111

Ryan Braun 110

Billy Butler 109

Curtis Granderson 104

Jose Bautista 103

Mark Trumbo 103

David Wright 102

Albert Pujols 100

Mark Teixeira 100

RUNS

Ian Kinsler 121

Curtis Granderson 118

Ryan Braun 108

Robinson Cano 104

Justin Upton 103

Melkey Cabrera 102

Austin Jackson 101

Miguel Cabrera 100

Alex Gordon 99

Josh Hamilton 99

Corey Hart 99

HITS

Miguel Cabrera 210

Melkey Cabrera 208 (wow. just wow.)

Michael Bourn 200 (and as long as we are wowing. Never would have guessed this)

Derek Jeter 195 (of all the things to admire about him, consistency might be #1)

Robinson Cano 192

Starlin Castro 190

Michael Young 188

Ryan Braun 183

Adrian Gonzalez 181

Dustin Pedroia 179

STOLEN BASES

Michael Bourn 51

Cameron Maybin 44

Ben Revere 41

Desmond Jennings 35

Juan Pierre 34

Drew Stubbs 34

BJ Upton 30

Ichiro Suzuki 29

Ryan Braun 29 (I know Reyes was hurt, but the same as Jose and Pagan? Wow)

Angel Pagan 29

Jose Reyes 29

STRIKEOUTS

Adam Dunn 194 (128 games)

Carlos Pena 183

Curtis Granderson 177

Dann Espinosa 177

Mark Reynolds 172 (129 Games)

Dan Uggla 171

Drew Stubbs 160

BJ Upton 157

Kelly Johnson 154

Jay Bruce 151

WALKS

Jose Bautista 113

Joey Votto 109

Carlos Pena 107

Adam Dunn 96

Curtis Granderson 90

LOWEST BA

Adam Dunn .191 (at least he's hitting HRs again)

Carlos Pena .211

Mark Reynolds .211

Clint Barmes .221 (Pirates could probably use a SS for the playoff run)

Drew Stubbs .224

Danny Espinosa .230

Gordon Beckham .230

Colby Rasmus .234

Cameron Maybin .238

Logan Morrison .238

Other offensive notes. Miguel Cabrera and David Freese lead the way with 25 GIDPs. Josh Willingham has the most HBPs with 18. Prince Fieder's 30 IBBs are 9 more then the next guy (Votto has 21). Ryan Braun (.619) is the only player in the .600s in Slugging Percentage.

WINS

Justin Verlander 22-6

Gio Gonzalez 20-9

Madison Bumgarner 19-9

Matt Harrison 19-6

Clayton Kershaw 18-6

Zack Grienke 18-6

Ian Kennedy 18-8

Ivan Nova 18-3 (Closing in a Guidry-like run.)

Jered Weaver 17-5

James Shields 16-11

RA Dickey 16-7

Ricky Romero 16-7

CC Sabathia 16-7

CJ Wilson 16-9

ERA (180 IP)

Kershaw 2.18 (quite a bit of separation from the rest)

CJ Wilson 2.49

Johnny Cueto 2.51

Marr Cain 2.56

Jered Weaver 2.58

Justin Verlander 2.58

RA Dickey 2.61

Ryan Vogelsong 2.76

Cliff Lee 2.90

Madison Bumgarner 2.92

Zack Grienke 2.98

James McDonald 2.99

LOSSES

Tim Lincecum 9-17 (cause for concern, perhaps?)

Derek Lowe 12-17 (Today on Maury, when sinkers don't sink)

Trevor Cahill 11-15

Jason Vargas 12-14

Bruce Chen 14-14

Dan Haren 13-13

Ervin Santana 11-13

Hiroki Kuroda 15-13

Anibal Sanchez 6-13 (at least he hooked up with Destiny a while back)

Ricky Nolasco 12-13

SAVES

Craig Kimbrel 43

Jose Valverde 42

JJ Putz 40 (glad the Mets had him for the 2 years he had no elbow)

Chris Perez 39

John Axford 38

Joel Hanrahan 37

Heath Bell 36

Jim Johnson 35

Jonathon Papelbon 30

Jason Motte 29

Joe Nathan 29

SHUTOUTS

Brandon Morrow 3

Matt Cain 2

RA Dickey 2

Dan Harren 2

Cliff Lee 2

Bronson Arroyo 2

Derek Holland 2

Johan Santana 2

Chris Carpenter 2

STRIKEOUTS

Justin Verlander 231

Clayton Kershaw 220

Zack Grienke 213

Felix Hernandez 210

Yovani Gallardo 210

CC Sabathia 209

Gio Gonzalez 204

Cliff Lee 199

Max Scherzer 199

Madison Bumgarner 198

David Price 198

K's/9 (minimum 180 IP)

Max Scherzer 9.90

Gio Gonzalez 9.63

Yavoni Gallardo 9.53

CC Sabathia 9.45

Cliff Lee 9.30

Zack Grienke 9.20

Tim Lincecum 9.08

Justin Verdlander 8.99

Clayton Kershaw 8.87

Felix Hernandez 8.82

K's/9 (minimum 40 IP)

Kenley Jansen 16.12 114 in 63.6

Craig Kimbrel 15.89 113 in 64

Aroldis Chapman 14.73 114 in 69.6

David Robertson 13.50 84 in 56

Ernesto Frieri 13.35 87 in 58.6

Rex Brothers 12.91 87 in 60.6

Carlos Marmol 12.49 80 in 57.6

Jason Grilli 12.35 91 in 66.3

Greg Holland 12.25 88 in 64.6

Boone Logan 12.00 68 in 51

worst ERA (minimum 180 IP)

Derek Lowe 5.20

Ricky Nolasco 5.16

Ubaldo Jimenez 4.89 (he's not in Colorado anymore, so what's his excuse now?)

Randy Wolf 4.72

Bruce Chen 4.67

Jason Vargas 4.59

Rick Porcello 4.58 (thought this guy was going to be a stud)

Dillon Gee 4.56 (Mets fans cringe a little at this one)

Trevor Cahill 4.48

Max Scherzer 4.43

Other pitching notes: Justin Masterson has uncorked a league worst 14 wild pitches. Lincecum is right on his heels with 13. Tony LaRussa's favorite, Johnny Cueto, has plunked 18 guys.

03 July, 2012

Thanks to my dad, I've seen every episode of The Andy Griffith Show up until Don Knotts left the show (we never really liked any of the episodes that were in color).

Who didn't think Andy was one of the coolest dads around? He was an authority figure, he was everyone's friend, he tried to help people in need, he was charming, he was funny, he could sing and he outsmarted every crook who came his way. What more could a man be?
As a young boy, it was easy to look and Andy and Opie and relate their father/son relationship to my own. My dad was a school teacher, so he was an authority figure too. He was well liked, he was (and is) funny and charming. He couldn't sing and never had to fend off bad guys, but he could whistle the Andy Griffith theme with the best of them. Watching the Mets and Andy Griffth were two of our regular bonding events. In fact, the first time I ever remember cracking my dad up came when we were watching an episode of Andy Griffith. I was around ten years old and we were watching the episode where Barney Fife had to lead a goat that had eaten dynamite out of town by playing his harmonica. The goat liked the sound and followed Barney as he walked and played. As we were watching I said to my dad "Look, it's the Pied Fifer!" My dad laughed like it was the funnies joke he ever heard, and at that moment I learned the joy of making someone laugh. It's something I have tried to do every day of my life since. Here is the clip from that show.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqCJ8t_5acc

Andy was a masterful straight man. He was the star of the show, but his strength was setting up Don Knotts to deliver the laughs. The scene that best exemplifies that is this beauty when Barney finds his high school history book and claims he still remembers the preamble to the U.S. constitution. Andy deftly handled his part of the scene with impeccable timing and just the right amount of "are you kidding me?"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx5d3haRG7M&feature=related

As a father on the show he was loving, but strict. In the episode where Opie kills a bird with his slingshot, Andy teaches Opie that actions have consequences. He was stern when he needed to be but in the end, gentle and instructive. He taught Opie an important lesson without taking him behind the woodshed but he also didn't pat him on the head and say "mistakes happen."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K62rLMz3zW0

Andy Griffith died today. He was 86. His contributions to the the entertainment industry and his fans lives are countless. I hope that the lessons and humor of the Andy Griffith Show are timeless, though I'm not sure the show can be watched today and appreciated by kids in the 10-15 year old range. I hope they can, because the show's real value, the lessons about family, love, friendship, courage and compassion have stuck with me and so many others for 50 years.